Top Ten NFL Draft Day Sleepers

A great deal of thought, debate, discussion and analysis has gone into the top side of the upcoming NFL Draft. Who will be picked first? Who should be in the top 5? 

With all of the buzz around the first 10 picks and the millions of dollars going their way the remainder of the draft tends to get overlooked.  In part this can be attributed to the difficulty most people have in listening to Mike Mayock. (I personally found myself screaming, standing on the bed, and brandishing a firearm at his image on the television almost daily while watching the combine.) 

With the signal to noise ration of the top ten being so high, it is time to focus on the fact that every year teams around the NFL get their best draft values from rounds 2-6 where they find the quality role players and the occasional gem.

This draft is very deep in a number of positions: DE, CB, RB and OL - and any number of teams are going to be able to snag themselves an all-pro player at a discount in the later rounds.  Here are the ten players who are going to be the best "non-first round" values for the teams that take them.

 10)  Kory Lichtensteiger  C  Bowling Green:  Has the smarts and technique to be a quality center for a long time at the pro-level. He isn't an outstanding athlete, but he plays hard and mean, and works the interior of the O line well. He has the versatility to move to Guard, but is best playing in the middle where his football IQ shows in calling protections and making blocking changes at the line. With a little development, Lichtensteiger can be the kind of center that improves an O-line from good to great. 

 9)  Carl Nicks  OT  Nebraska:  Nicks needs his own zip code. Dude is HUGE. Nicks is a very raw prospect without a ton of playing experience in college, but has the strength and talent to become an impact player at the pro level if he ends up on a team with a quality line coach. (PLEASE let it be Arizona...) If he makes the move to G until he masters footwork and technique, Nicks could easily become a dominant player on the O line.   

 8) Dexter Jackson  WR  Appalachian State:  This one is a tale of the tape. Jackson is FAST. He ran great times at the combine and looked smooth in drills. With his speed and mobility Jackson is going to make an appealing 3rd receiver for a lot of teams looking to emulate the success New England had with Wes Welker. He should also provide some excitement in the return game while he polishes his route running. Jackson is reminiscent of a young, less injured Terry Glenn.

 7) Cliff Avril  DE/OLB  Purdue: Does Purdue offer a degree program is OLB/DE conversion? Avril looks poised to join the ranks of productive NFL players to come out of Purdue and switch from DE to OLB for an NFL 3-4. Avril offers the advantage of having played OLB in college before making the switch to end, and was productive at both positions. I doubt he will be a dominant player in the first 3 or 4 years, but he should be good enough to play, and elevate a defense with his solid play and athleticism. 

 6) Mike Hart  RB Michigan: There are a lot of question marks around Hart because of the huge workload he got at Michigan, but the tale of the tape is that there is still some rubber on the tires. Teams looking for an exciting game breaker who is a scoring threat from anywhere on the field should leave now, but for a team that wants a reliable back who secures the ball and can grind out those tough 3rd down and goal line yards could make an investment in Hart and get every penny worth of value. He may never be "exciting" but he could develop into a Curtis Martin type back that will handle the ball 25-30 times a game and push the chains. 

 5) John Carlson  TE  Notre Dame

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